Stefanos Tsitsipas says his rapid recovery from injury was something that surprised him after booking his place in the second round of the Australian Open.
The seventh seed got off to a testing start against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs before storming to a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3, victory. Bergs came in as a late replacement for Matteo Berrettini who withdrew from the tournament on Sunday. Despite the early blip, Tsitsipas managed to elevate his game as he hit 38 winners and won 73% of his first service points.
“Things were not as expected,” he said. “I was expecting Matteo. Things like these are quite dangerous when you’re preparing for many days in a row for a specific type of opponent.”
“I’m glad things turned around. I’m glad I showed the fight and spirit that I usually show on court so it feels great.”
Tsitsipas’ first round win in Melbourne follows what has been a challenging past couple of months for the Greek. At last year’s ATP Finals, he was forced to withdraw due to a back problem that at one stage made it difficult for him to even get out of bed. Earlier this year, he told reporters that the pain he was feeling was ‘very strong’ for one to two weeks.
Given the situation he was in, the 25-year-old has branded his swift recovery as ‘phenomenal’ as he paid tribute to the work he has done with his team.
“My recovery has kind of been insane. I’m talking on behalf of players that have had this injury in the past. I have spoken to a few of them. It’s something that tennis players are faced with at some period of their career.” Tsitsipas explained.
“It’s an injury that’s more common than I initially thought. My recovery has been astonishing, in a way, because it’s been quicker than any other player. I have done anything that I had under my control to get back on court as soon as possible.”
Tsitsipas is defending a significant amount of points in Melbourne after reaching the final last year before losing in straight sets to Novak Djokovic. Whilst he is yet to return to his best, the Greek believes everything is heading in the right direction.
“It was a tricky part during the preseason to be faced with something like this. But now I’m healthy. I’m heading in the right direction. I feel like I can keep adding to it and eventually see myself the way I was able to play at the beginning of last year.” He concluded.
